Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer fails to reply to correspondence 008-03090080

Check to confirm that the written request the customer has not responded to includes:

• advice about the information/action required (including a Q164 - request to contact letter)
• a reasonable timeframe for response
• information about the consequences of non-compliance and
• a reference to the relevant Act the request has been made under

Has the customer been fully advised in writing about the information/action required and the consequences of not responding?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, the advice must be reissued containing this information. Procedure ends here

Review the record for any evidence that the customer has:

• contacted Services Australia
• provided required details, and/or
• returned any required documentation, review:
• scanned documents to make sure the provided document(s) meets requirements and has not been scanned under an incorrect identifier; and
• the Document List (DL) screen for any DOC supporting customer contact or provision of requested documents

Have all requested documents and/or information been provided?

• Yes, and:
• there is sufficient information to update the record go to Step 3
• more clarification is required, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 6

Update the customer's record with the information provided.

Create a DOC

Record the decision on the customer’s record and include the:

• decision itself
• Act/Guide reference upon which it is based, and
• reason for making the decision

For more details, see:

• Creating, reviewing and deleting documents (including Fast Notes and DOA DOCs)
• Online Document Recording (ODR) > Resources page > Act references

Tell the customer about the unfavourable decision

Service Officers must contact the customer:

• to explain the reasons for the unfavourable decision
• to make sure the customer understands why the decision was made
• if the:
• change in circumstances update results in an automatic suspension or cancellation of DSP, or
• update affects rate of DSP

See Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision.

Procedure ends here.

In some cases, staff may need to contact a customer to clarify the details of the information provided.

If the customer has a Correspondence Nominee, attempt to contact the nominee first. If the customer/nominee:

• does not have telephone contact details, go to Step 5
• has telephone contact details, go to Step 6

When the customer (and nominee, if applicable) has no contact details:

• Create and issue a Q164, asking the customer to contact within 14 days
• If the customer has a correspondence nominee, create and issue the same Q164 to the correspondence nominee
• Create a DOC detailing the reason for issuing the Q164

Procedure ends here.

Service Officers must make genuine attempts to contact the customer/nominee.

Is contact with the customer successful?

• Yes, and:
• more clarification of the provided information is required, go to Step 7
• they have failed to provide all requested information by the due date, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 9

Do not formally or verbally re-request documents that have previously been requested.

Is the customer able to provide the required information/clarification verbally?

• Yes, go to Step 3 to complete the updates
• No, tell the customer:

Further information is required to clarify your circumstances. A formal request will be issued today where you will have 14 days to provide the information. You can provide the details at your local service centre or through Upload documents online (preferred option). If you do not provide the evidence, your Disability Support Pension may be suspended.

Issue a request for the required information through > Request Documents. See Requesting information (CLK). If the customer has a correspondence nominee, copies of letters and notices must also be sent to the nominee.

Annotate any existing DOC about to the initial request or create a DOC with details about the discussion.

Procedure ends here until the information has been provided.

Consider if the failure to reply to correspondence is caused by any vulnerability and risk issues.

Tell the customer:

• The evidence provided does not meet requirements, or
• The evidence requested on <date> has not been provided

Can the customer:

• upload the requested evidence or provide the evidence/information within 24 hours, or
• provide the evidence/information verbally over the phone

Tell the customer:

• You can provide the details:
• at your local service centre, or
• through Upload documents service (preferred option) accessing and using Centrelink self service, using your Centrelink online account help - Upload documents or through the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app help - Upload documents, if the request was made in writing
• To ensure continuity of your Disability Support Pension, you can contact us on 132 717 to advise when you have lodged the documents/information
• If you do not provide the evidence by the due date, your Disability Support Pension may be suspended

Place the relevant activity on hold for 2 business days.

Procedure ends here.

Do not formally or verbally re-request documents that have previously been requested.

Tell the customer:

To ensure continuity of your Disability Support Pension, you can contact us on 132 717 to advise when you have lodged the documents/information. If you do not provide the evidence/information, your Disability Support Pension may be suspended.

Procedure ends here.

Has an extension to the due date been previously provided?

• Yes, the customer has failed to reply to correspondence, go to Step 12
• No, check if special circumstances exist, go to Step 10

Determine if special circumstances exist, to warrant an extension of time to respond if:

• the allowable timeframe has elapsed, and
• the customer has not responded

Check:

• the Document List (DL)/Notes for any recent DOCs, and
• annotations

Special circumstances may include:

• a DSP customer that has practical difficulties in meeting the timeframe because they live in a remote area or temporarily overseas, or
• the necessary timeframe was not provided with the original request, or
• the DSP customer needs to get the documents from a third party, or
• an emergency interfering with the DSP customer's plans to lodge within the timeframe. Generally, the emergency is unforeseen and for a short term. For example:
• a medical emergency
• a family emergency
• recognised natural disasters
• family and domestic violence

Do special circumstances exist?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, the customer has failed to reply to correspondence, go to Step 12

After checking the customer's record and special circumstances have been established, go to the Request for Information transaction:

• Select the Transaction icon
• Select the CoC transaction being extended
• Select Extend Due Date
• The Extend Due Date screen will show. Complete the following fields:
• Set New Expiry Date: add new date using the calendar
• add notes in the Staff Notes field
• Select Extend, to return to the Request for Information - Manage Customer Tasks screen
• Select View/Edit Notes to view DL/Notes
• Procedure ends here

Only manually suspend DSP if:

• there is sufficient evidence:
• the customer is not qualified for DSP, or
• DSP is not payable
• the period of ineligibility is expected to be for a short time or there is reason to believe non-compliance with any legislative issues will be resolved
• all required actions have been completed:
• the correct request or notice has been issued, and
• the customer/nominee has not provided all required documents for assessment by the due date (including any extensions), and
• genuine attempts to contact customer have been completed

Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen:

• Select + Add New to create a new Create Benefit Action table
• Complete the following fields:
• Benefit Type Code: DSP
• Benefit action: SUS - Suspend
• Reason: FRC – Fail to reply to correspondence
• Date of Effect: key the date of effect for the suspension. For more details, see Date of effect
• Select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date, Channel and Service Reason fields and select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings which may present on the SWE screen
• Select Assess > Finish. Record details of the update on the Finalise screen
• Select Finalise to complete the transaction
• Document the suspension by recording all relevant details. Use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > SUS/CAN/RES > Suspend Cancel Reason.
  Note: unless action is taken to restore DSP within 13 weeks of the suspension date, DSP automatically cancels after 13 weeks
• Go to Step 13

Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen and code the following:

• Service Reason: DSP
• Action: SUS - Suspend
• Reason: FRC - Fail to reply to correspondence. See Cancellation, suspension and rejection codes for Disability Support Pension (DSP)
• Effect Date: key the date of effect for the suspension. For more details, see Date of effect
• Complete Source: field and Receipt Date: field
• Select Submit Changes
• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Select Finalise > Save and Exit
• Document the suspension by recording all relevant details. Use Fast Note - select Auto Text, use Generic > SUS/CAN/RES > Suspend Cancel Reason
  Note: unless action is taken to restore DSP within 13 weeks of the suspension date, DSP automatically cancels after 13 weeks
• Go to Step 13

If the customer and their partner are both receiving a payment and information is needed that will impact both customer's entitlements, individual requests for information must be issued using the same time allowed to respond.

The requests for information must be sent at the same time. This is to make sure that if a suspension is required for failing to respond to the request, this can be applied to both records at the same time.

An adverse decision for not responding to a request for information can only be made regarding the customer that was issued the request. It cannot be applied to a partner unless they were also issued a request for information and failed to respond.

Suspend the partner's payment if required. See the relevant suspension process for procedures on suspending other payments.

If the system has not issued a letter following the suspension activity, a manual letter is required.

A Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity generates, usually overnight, and is allocated by Workload Manager (WLM) for action. That is, unless the letter action field was coded to inhibit within the suspension activity.

Has a manual suspension letter already been issued to the customer at the time of suspension?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No:
• manually issue a Q134 letter to the customer
• go to Step 2

The MFU activity still shows on the Activity List (AL) screen as Started (STA). To finalise the MFU activity in Customer First:

• select the correct MFU activity from the AL screen and select:
• (AR) Finalise an activity via AR from the Selection Options
• Continue
• submit the activity for completion
• annotate the DOC titled Suspend Cancel Reason with any additional information